Bluetooth Daughter Card (BDC)
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Bluetooth Daughter Card (BDC)This is a USB Bluetooth Adapter that is installed in a CDC slot. Features
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IBM Partnumbers
IBM FRU PN: 12P3872, 26P8071
Also known (in IBM literature) as....
- Bluetooth Daughter Card
- Bluetooth Daughter Card board
- BDC board
Firmware
A firmware update is available for this adapter from IBM.
The updated firmware is version 310, and is available here
This firmware update can unfortunately only be applied from Windows.
In theory an update for Linux exists; the BTDFU update utility that can be found on the pages of Marcel Holtmann, the current Linux BlueZ stack maintainer, which can be found here. You need to get the original IBM update file and extract the file with the extension "dfu" from it using cabextract. Using the btdfu tool and this file it should be possible to update the firmware. This procedure has not yet been confirmed.
Linux driver
This card will work with the standard Linux Bluetooth drivers as part of any recent 2.4 or 2.6 kernel
This device is implemented as a USB device, which can be enabled or disabled using a button under the display.
Also be aware that this card has a three pin connector used for currently unknown purposes. The later model Thinkpads have a two pin connector that will not fit.
ThinkPads this card may be found in
I have found that this card may be added to non-bluetooth X24s; this may be possible with other non-bluetooth models from the list above. It may NOT be added to X22s of any kind.
To add a BDC to an X24, you will also have to add the bluetooth hinge covers with the button on the right side, p/n 46l6540 (available from ACS for about $25, incl. ship). The non-bluetooth X24s have the physical switch and BT LED on the motherboard already. The button on the hinge cover is just a piece of plastic that reaches down to the m/b and pushes the switch. You will also have to install an antenna. I don't know what kind of antenna was included with the original bluetooth models. However, a laptop Wifi antenna with the u.fl connector may be used (search for laptop antenna on ebay). Finding a good place to place the antenna may be tricky, since the (special) plastic LCD cover, the bottom chassis, and the keyboard bezel all seem to block radio signals (hence the cutouts on the side of the lid on WiFi models). Any more hints about original antennas and other supported models would be appreciated!
